There’s a reason Microsoft left such a huge chasm between CEO’s – remember the hijinks of Steve B? and congratulations to new CEO Satya Nadella – it seems the folk that pick these people might need a little self reflection.

Having ranted all that, it seems the new CEO has done something we all thought unattainable, he’s made people give a f_ck about Microsoft for the first time in years.

Nadella achieved this emotional engagement by offering up the most misogynisticly deplorable advice to women in the workplace. Not since Australia’s Prime Minister advised women to dull-down their expectations has a man at the top uttered such fowl advice.

“I think it’d be folly to expect that women will ever dominate or even approach equal representation in large numbers, simply because their aptitudes, abilities and interests are different for physiological reasons” Tony Abbott

According to Nadella the female ‘confidence gap’ is a sham? Nadella made his pickled remarks on stage at an event to celebrate the marginalized accomplishments of women in the technology industry… Seriously?! ::::

Ain’t Karma a Biatch? Nadella has been compelled to undertake a little damage control via Twitter:

“It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise,” Nadella told a confounded – predominantly female – audience at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing on yesterday.

Ascribing to mortals the fictional abilities of comic book heroes, Nadella advised that women embrace their innate “super powers” confidence and trust in a system that pays women 22 percent less than men.

Nadella’s belief in the imaginary didn’t stop with super powers, he made his foot-in-mouth comments in an on-stage with Maria Klawe, a computer scientist, president of Harvey Mudd College, and member of Microsoft’s board of directors. He seemed to suggest that “faith in the system” was akin to magic.

The female ‘confidence gap’ is a sham

Jessica Valenti: Women’s lack of confidence could be just a keen understanding of just how… Nadella made those remarks on stage at an event to celebrate the marginalized accomplishments of women in the technology industry. Seriously :: The Guardian Reports

“Culture Fit” Is a Shitty Excuse for Marginalizing Women in Tech

Tech startups, like any other business sector, gravitate towards jargon that conveniently glosses :: Valleywag Reports

“That might be one of the initial ‘super powers,’ that quite frankly, women (who) don’t ask for a raise have,” he told the straight-faced Klawe. “It’s good karma. It will come back.” Nadella told the audience.

Nope, I’d reckon Nadella was incredibly articulate, his thoughts on how women should be compensated came across loud, clear, and very telling.

REBLOG/UPDATED! Microsoft CEO Says He Answered Question All Wrong

After making an unfortunate gender-related gaffe onstage at a women’s tech event today, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella issued a memo to employees apologizing for comparing pay issues for women to “karma.”

In the interview with Harvey Mudd College’s Maria Klawe, who is also a Microsoft board member, he said that women needed to trust “karma” if they don’t get the raise they want.

“Toward the end of the interview, Maria asked me what advice I would offer women who are not comfortable asking for pay raises. I answered that question completely wrong. Without a doubt I wholeheartedly support programs at Microsoft and in the industry that bring more women into technology and close the pay gap. I believe men and women should get equal pay for equal work. And when it comes to career advice on getting a raise when you think it’s deserved, Maria’s advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.” :: Read Kara Swisher’s Full Post @Re/code »»»»

Australia’s parliamentary inquiry into consumer electronics and IT pricing has heard testimony from Apple, Microsoft and Adobe, the testimony however failed to impress. Australia consumers pay up to 90 per cent more for some of the most commonly required IT products, the trap of course is that programs like Adobe’s Photoshop are essential, irreplaceable tools in many businesses. The price discrepancies rely heavily on an enthusiastic abuse of copyright and a heavy handed approach to geo-blocking.

The price gouging by some of the planets largest companies led the parliamentary inquiry to take the unusual step of forcing Apple, Microsoft and Adobe – The Big Three – to front up and explain their obscene pricing policies. The inquiry issued a threatening summons to the world’s technology behemoths, demanding they answer accusations.

Committee chairman Nick Champion says the inquiry has heard from many Australian consumers and organisations frustrated at the prices charged for digitally downloaded software, computer games, music, movies, and e-books. Matt Levey, head of campaigns for independent consumer organisation Choice, says Australian consumers should not have to pay so much more.

Microsoft, which employs 800 people in Australia, says attempts to compare absolute prices across different counties is of limited use because there are a range of regional factors that need to be taken into account. The company says it provides recommended retail prices for its products that take into account various market forces, such as the size of the market, and the consumers willingness to pay :: Read the full article »»»»

Microsoft is a little over a month away from killing off its überpopular Windows XP operating system – April 8, 2014 – However, it seems that punters aren’t entirely in agreement with the tech-giants death yell.

February’s trends for XP and Windows 8 were unwelcome news at Microsoft, but perhaps not unexpected. In the past weeks the company has been reduced to asking customers for help in shrinking XP’s still-strong presence and has reportedly severely slashed the price of Windows 8 licenses to makers of low-priced devices in an effort to boost sales.

Much to the chagrin of Microsoft, for the second month in a row, Windows XP and Windows 8 both defied the maker’s wishes, XP, which Microsoft just wants to go away, gained user share, and Windows 8, the OS Microsoft hopes will fuel sales of new devices, flatlined in February.

Windows XP increased its share by .3 of a percentage point in February, ending the month at 29.5 percent of all personal – desktop and notebook – computers globally. In January, XP had gained a quarter of a point. The fact that the well-aged operating system accounts for a third of all Windows based PCs also has to have Microsoft tearing out strands of hair. Killing off the OS is likely to upset once loyal Microsoft devotees, but is anything likely to halt the funeral? Not a hope in hell according to Microsoft

UPDATED! 16 March, 2014: Microsoft has upped the ante in its lame attempt to lure users away from it’s almost defunct OS, offering a $50 carrot for users who buy a new Windows 8.1 device :: Read the full article »»»»

Proffering career advice more analogous to The Secret than Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: Women Work, and the Will to Lead, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told women in the tech industry that asking for what you’re worth isn’t the best way to get ahead.

“It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise,” Nadella told a confounded (and predominantly female) audience at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing on Thursday.